Mount Virtus

"Happy to come back to Michigan, but I miss the mountains!"

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Mount Virtus?

Every day is seeking to rise to the challenge, 'neath the shadow of the mighty Rockies.

Colorado Ballot Reviews

Sometimes the choices are daunting or confusing, sometimes they're as clear as a Mile High view.

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Littwin Joins “Dump Hanna” Chorus

The notable Rocky Mountain News center-left political columnist Mike Littwin has joined the chorus of those calling for disgraced Democrat State Senator (and alleged extortion artist) Deanna Hanna to resign from her Lakewood seat: She can resign now. Or she can resign later. But, one way or the other, she has to go. The typewriting is on the wall - and it's as clear as an extortion note written in bright red crayon. It's one thing to survive a political embarrassment. I mean, it could have been worse: She could have shot someone. But it's another to survive when you've become a major political liability for your party. The Senate Democrats I've talked to are more than prepared to dump her. The question is whether Hanna is … [Read more...]

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Book Review: Tasty Red Meat for Red State Republican Families

The other night I lay in bed with my wife and weeks-old daughter. We snuggled up with a copy of Katharine DeBrecht's Help, Mom! Hollywood's in My Hamper, and I read aloud. My wife and I shared a few giggles throughout the story and dozed off (as best we could under the circumstances) with a warm feeling. The baby? Well, I'm pretty certain she'll appreciate the Help, Mom! series some day. I can picture her a few years from now tugging at my pant leg, pleading for me to read one of the sequels. And I can tell you right now - my whole family hopes for DeBrecht to publish some more that meet the quality of the first two. … [Read more...]

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Bennish Update

Fox News reports a positive development in the controversial Colorado geography teacher case: Jay Bennish has decided to drop the lawsuit against Cherry Creek School District in exchange for the district dropping the media gag order. In my opinion, both sides chose wisely. We may start to hear from the embattled Marxist instructor in various outlets. Stay tuned. … [Read more...]

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Irony: Bennish Case Goes Federal

The Rocky Mountain News reports that Jay Bennish lawyer David Lane plans to file a lawsuit in federal court this morning to put the highly controversial teacher back in the classroom. Bennish is currently on paid administrative leave while the Cherry Creek School District conducts an investigation based on his 20-minute recorded left-wing political tirade. From the News story: "I know about 10 federal judges who are more than willing to teach the Cherry Creek School District what the First Amendment is all about," his attorney, David Lane, said Thursday. Lane said he expects to file a federal lawsuit as early as this morning, and that seeking a court order to return Bennish to the classroom is one option he might pursue. He … [Read more...]

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More Bennish…

Due to overwhelming popular demand, I thought I would respond to a couple commenters from my previous post on the gigantic Jay Bennish flap, and shed a little more light on the whole topic. When a story erupts and spreads through the media - old & new - as fast as this one has, the caution needs to be made that we don't make hasty judgments that outstrip the evidence we have. Furthermore, we should promote a healthy, moderate, and reasonable tone to the debate. No one I have seen is calling for violence to be done against any of the parties involved, and that should hold for both supporters of Bennish and for those like me who admire the smart and courageous 16-year-old Sean Allen. That being said, I think some judgments can be made in … [Read more...]

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The Stengel Affair

In his Thursday metro side column, the Post's David Harsanyi shines the light on a series of cases that give Coloradans plenty of reason to be cynical about politics. Maybe as cynical as one of my commenters, who after my post on Deanna Hanna's more legally serious misdeeds implied that I was ignoring the Stengel affair because of party loyalties. Memo to commenter: sorry for giving you an excuse to feed your cynicism. If you would care to respond to this post and reveal your identity, my respect for you will increase greatly. Harsanyi's lead case is indeed that of Republican House Minority Leader Joe Stengel, who charged taxpayers for 240 days of work last year, including a trip to Hawaii. Yesterday, five of Stengel's constituents … [Read more...]

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Left-Wing Classroom Rant

Suffering from low blood pressure and need it raised? Want to hear one of the reasons why many people are disenchanted with public schools? There's nothing quite like indoctrinating young minds, whether from willful ignorance or whatever the cause may be. Mike Rosen, the preeminent radio talk show host in the Rocky Mountain West, has recorded classroom footage from Jay Bennish's geography class at Overland High School, featuring an unbalanced rant against President Bush, America, and capitalism. One of Bennish's students made the recording and will appear with his mother on the Mike Rosen Radio Show on 850 KOA tomorrow morning, Wednesday, March 1. I haven't heard if the host was able to get Bennish himself, the Overland principal, or … [Read more...]

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Suthers v O’Brien?

Joshua has the scoop on the imminent entry of a new candidate into the Colorado Attorney General's race. Looks like the Dead Guvs may have to add another line -- and, er, maybe the guys at Mile High Delphi can start rolling out the predictions for all the statewide offices up for grabs in November. … [Read more...]